Nowdays, digital imaging is widely used both artistically and commercially, and using computers to alter and transform photographs has already been around for over half a century. Among the pioneering artists in this field is Pedro Meyer, who is one of Latin America's preeminent photographers. The National Art Museum of China has just opened a photo exhibition dedicated to this master of manipulating images.

One of Pedro Meyer's works

This photo exhibition is a magical and illuminating photographic exploration of Mexico and the United States. On display are some of Pedro Meyer's most representative works using digital-imaging technology.

With the wizardry of new computer technology, he is able to juxtapose fantastic images in realistic and surrealistic ways.

"In 2006, Pedro Meyer donated his 110 pieces of photographic works to the National Art Museum of China. And we've been collaborating closely ever since. For this exhibition, we've selected some 50 works from his donation, to show the essence of his aesthetics," said Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China.
 
Meyer sometimes works in the tradition of American and European street photography, and at other times in the tradition of magical realism, which has defined Mexican art and photography. He has produced a body of seamless digital photographs that are both documentary fiction and digital truth.

Pedro Meyer's works show that photographs can be edited and transformed by the computer with the same ease that sentences can be altered by the word processcor. And it highlights the transition of photographic medium from its darkroom origins to its new electronic foundation.

One of Pedro Meyer's works

Though he considers himself primarily a documentary photographer, Meyer is still willing to present pieces constructed of several images, sometimes taken years apart from one another.

"If you look closer to the tag of each photo, you'll see that instead of one date of creation, they both have two. The two dates indicates that he had combined together photos from two different periods, which is what he called "New Documentary Consciousness". For example this one may seem like your average family photo, but actually,  Pedro Meyers has placed the father's childhood photo next to his son's childhood photo, so it's not just about capturing the moment but recreating and completing the story," said Han Jinsong, curator of "Pedro Meyer Photo Exhibition".
 
The exhibition also features Pedro Meyer's earlier black and white works as a documentary photographer. His exhibition at the National Art Museum of China will run until August the 19th.